


Deafening

by marginaliana



Category: Top Gear (UK) RPF
Genre: M/M, Pre-Slash, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-05
Updated: 2016-03-05
Packaged: 2018-05-24 22:08:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6168460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marginaliana/pseuds/marginaliana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jeremy had been just about ready to drop off when the snoring started.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Deafening

"James," Jeremy hissed. There was no response. He rolled over and stared angrily at the other bed. "Jaaaaaames."

It was no good. The moonlight seeping in around the edges of the blinds was just enough to illuminate James' profile, and Jeremy could tell he was out completely. No surprise there – they'd been up before sunrise, driven all day, and, thanks to some issues with James' carburetor and Richard's fuel intake line, they hadn't arrived at the hotel until nearly midnight. He and James had talked a little while getting ready for bed, but once they'd turned off the lights James' breathing had evened out quickly. Jeremy had taken a bit longer to wind down – he always did – but he'd been just about ready to drop off when the snoring started.

James' snoring was by no means new to Jeremy, but it was particularly deafening tonight. Almost as if someone had surgically implanted a chainsaw in amongst James' tonsils and fueled it with a day's worth of crap service station tea and dodgy crisps. Jeremy tried to block out the sound by focusing on an idea for a column he'd been half-considering in his spare moments, but after thirty seconds he realized that all he could think about was whether he could get away with smothering James to death with a pillow. 

"James, you bastard," Jeremy said, louder this time. "For god's sake, man, shut up!" His head was beginning to buzz in a way that signaled over-tiredness and an incipient migraine; if he didn't get to sleep soon, he'd be utterly useless in the morning, and they still had days of the trip left. 

James snored on. Jeremy contemplated actually shouting at him, but they were in a hotel and it was one in the bloody morning, and he had enough enemies already that it didn't seem like a brilliant idea to make more just now. After a moment he heaved a sigh and shoved the bedclothes back, shivering as the cold night air hit him. They both liked a cool room to sleep in, with plenty of blankets – one of the reasons he shared with James, and Richard with Dave or Iain – but it did make moving about in the night a hurried endeavor. He scrambled over to sit on the edge of James' bed and gave James' shoulder a shake. "May. Shut up." This had no particular effect. "James!"

The snoring paused as James snuffled briefly, but then it started up again. Jeremy shivered harder and, without really thinking about it, he lifted the edge of James' blanket and slid in beside him. James radiated heat, and Jeremy sighed. Exhaustion slithered over him much like the blankets; he slumped down, letting his head rest on the pillow.

"James," he tried again. He put one hand on James' bare shoulder and shook him gently, nudging him towards the window. James gave a long, snorted inhale and – at last! – rolled over. Except that somehow, he rolled towards Jeremy rather than away, slinging his arm up over Jeremy's waist and burying his face into Jeremy's neck. The snoring died abruptly, replaced with only a faint whistling on each exhale.

_Buh?_ Jeremy thought, and then, _Oh, for fuck's sake._ He closed his eyes in exasperation. It was just bloody typical of James to do the absolutely wrong thing, even asleep. Still, at least the noise had stopped; in the quiet, even being involuntarily cuddled seemed intensely pleasant.

He knew that he ought to extricate himself from the situation, since his mission had been accomplished. The trouble was, now that he'd closed his eyes it suddenly seemed quite impossible to open them again. And James was warm, much more so than the prospect of Jeremy's own bed, which was undoubtedly growing colder by the second. He even smelled comforting, in a familiar sort of way. Perhaps, Jeremy thought, he would lie here just a few moments more, gathering up his resolution. Just one more minute...


End file.
